The Shining is a film about cyclical violence, and about how we can't escape the dark specter of history. Jack calls Danny and makes him sit on his lap while asking him about the Overlook and if he liked it, saying I want you to like it with a weak smile while rubbing Dannys shoulder, emphasizing the control he is inflicting. Add to that the fact that he reads Playgirl magazine. In an interview (via Huffington Post), Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan discussed why he didn't include this particular character, and his reasoning makes sense. In this post, well break down the six biggest theories on The Shining, including our own theory that its actually a Christmas movie! The Overlooks cook, Dick Hallorann, arrives to help Wendy and Danny after the latter reaches out to him through the shining, but is ambushed and killed by Jack. But, to be perfectly honest, every other piece of evidence in support of this theory is beyond far-fetched and not to be taken seriously. An analysis of one. Moving forward, we meet Dick Halloran (Scatman Crauthers) the head cook at the hotel who notices the telekinetic and precognitive powers Danny possesses, which he calls The Shining. In Lolita, Mason played Humbert Humbert, a man who has a sexual relationship with his underage stepdaughter. There are also various historical parallels that support the theory that Kubrick wanted to express subtle themes surrounding the genocide of Native Americans. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. The open patch on the bear mans behind in the film simply adds to the sexual emphasis. Look carefully at this teddy pillow. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. The Shining is full of allegory and mystery, but none are as wild and potentially insidious as what could be lurking behind that strange man in a bear suit. All the aforementioned signs, and many more, point to the likelihood that Jack sexually abused Danny, making sense of the childs fragile mental state where he frequently has terrifying visions about the vast hotel. Roger the Dog Man is a fictional minor character featured in the 1977 horror novel The Shining by author Stephen King. Kubrick failed in adapting Stephen Kings book, but he succeeded in making a film full of metaphors and symbolism that have made way for countless interpretations of its true meaning. Instead of being inside, the young boy is out in the hedge maze being pursued by his father. For a detailed description of this subplot follow this link. The scene seemed almost accidental but knowing Stanley Kubrick, every shot that made it to the final cut was necessary. Here's the trailer. Specifically, the spaceship sweater with Apollo 11 written on it, which was the name of the rocket used in the moon landing. Kubrick used a yellow car instead of a red one and used a red snowcar contrary to yellow in the novel. On its own, this again seems more like a tiny error rather than an intentional clue. Its more than likely that Kubrick placed this article title in the scene to communicate that the psychiatrists dismissal of Dannys health problem is mistaken. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Guillermo del Toro said hi to her once. Another interesting point, Wendy later holds Danny in the same way as Jack holds the old lady, and also has Jacks blue robe on (the same robe he had while he abused Danny). These dates line up to the precise year that lightning strikes hit a monument a town wrought with countless Native American deaths. At the beginning of the movie, Wendy mentions that Jack once injured Danny's arm, and it's later implied that Danny's imaginary friend, Tony, is . Three minutes into the movie and we come face to face with the words, The Interview in block letters resembling the beginning of a chapter. The Shiningmoon landing connection is the one theory that extends film and into the life and work of Stanley Kubrick in general. Ager suggests that Danny's experience in Room 237 was his way of externalizing his abuse and that it was his father who assaulted him instead. The shot of the bathroom door with Danny bending is very similar to the shot of the room with the bear man performing fellatio on an unknown man in a posture similar to Dannys. The meaning and topics addressed in the novel are very different than those in The Shining movie Stephen King hates so much, given Kubricks many changes to the story in order to fit his vision. This fan theory posits that Danny is Theseus and Jack is the minotaur in Kubricks extended metaphor. it is impossible not to mention the documentary Room 237. Below are the six biggest and most popular theories on The Shining explained. Notice how we are shown a symmetrical window centered shot, this is because the placement of the window is impossible. When the psychiatrist asks Danny Who's Tony Wendy, stood defensively with her arms folded, quickly interjects, Tonys his imaginary friend, as if trying to gloss over the issue. From across the hall, they casually look up at her. Its understandable: Kubrick asked for freedom to change whatever he wanted, and he wasnt kidding. And Kubrick all but disregarded the novel when making the film. (Rob Ager's work plagiarized) Collative Learning 214K subscribers Subscribe 4.1K 167K views 5 years ago Watch my new Shining analysis video. One of the many mysteries of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is why Jack appears in the photo at the end, and it actually has a semi-simple explanation. The young woman had inexplicably transformed into an old lady who walks after the frantic Jack laughing all the while. What makes The Shining so special? In the psychiatrist scene Danny lays on the bed with his jeans removed and his hands curiously covering his groin area, just as Jack did in the fatherly love scene. This concept is further paralleled in our first view of Dannys bedroom in the Overlook. Of course, there are some more convincing (and coherent) than others, but The Shining is, at its core, a story about violence and abuse and how these are often cyclical. But believers of this theory point to the word below the skier as proof: Monarch.. Related: The Shining Movie's Most Significant Difference From Stephen King's Book. Its actually quite simple. Some of the interpretations expressed in Room 237 are interesting and hold water. Both Jack and Humbert are writers. That being said, The Shining bear didn't appear in the sequel. We see an overly terrified Wendy screaming in agony at the sight, but slashes Jacks hand when he tries to turn the knob open. It is used throughout the movie to symbolize the incest and sexual abuse between Jack and Danny. I think Kubricks version is more matured and tries to be realistic about itself, while keeping intact his use of underlying themes. Jack embraced Danny on the bed in the fatherly love scene, from which Danny would have also been able to see his own predicament in a mirror. Inside, a man in a bear suit is performing fellatio on one of the Overlook's guests. Theres something inherently wrong with the human personality. He then follows that up by complaining about his wife and son, and you can sense the contempt for Wendy in his voice through the suppressed grins that indicate madness instead of anger. The one on the left would be overlapped by the stretched size of 237, seen in the bathroom scene and the one on the right shows a stairway going downstairs where Room 237 is. But that hasnt stopped people all over the world from trying. Therefore, it makes sense why Doctor Sleep didn't include The Shining bear man. Its now even more clear why Kubrick chose such a sombre piece of music for the fatherly love scene. Its not much of a marriage. The Shining is full of allegory and mystery, but none are as wild and potentially insidious as what could be lurking behind that strange man in a bear suit. Super Dark The Shining Theory Reveals The Story Is All In Wendy's Head. This gives you an inkling of the absurd lengths Kubrick will go to make a tiny subliminal detail that will go unnoticed by almost everyone watching the picture. One strong and memorable element of The Shining that didnt directly factor into any of these theories was the soundtrack. From the sinister musical scoring to the casts class acts, the film has all the components for a great horror movie. The same physical abuse evidence is used alongside other interpretable details. This is thought to reference the estimated 237,000 miles between the Earth and the moon, even though this number is inaccurate. Wendy keeps swinging the bat to keep him away, and begs him to take Danny to a doctor. The sighting of the pair in the novel, then, doesn't have much to do with Danny and Jack Torrance, at least not as clearly as in Ager's film analysis. One newspaper article is called Illness as metaphor and was written by Susan Sontag. Directly above Dannys bed is a framed picture of two bears, one standing and one sitting. Her relationship with Jack seems to be totally lacking in intimacy. Why the bear costume? Wendy and Danny reunite and leave the hotel in a snowcat, and Jack freezes to death. Others believe its the blood of all the lives claimed by the forces of the hotel, which might be the most convincing explanation. Like The Shining's Overlook Hotel, the Stanley Hotel also has a haunted history, even possessing a particularly haunted room (number 217) just like the Overlook's room 237. And the parallels continue. Figurative representations of hell can be found in other horror films, so it wouldnt be a stretch to imagine Kubrick was doing the same thing. Danny escapes through the window leaving behind Wendy who cant fit through. The Shining Explained . While Danny's barbs do eventually seem to wake up part of Jack's consciousness from inside his Lloyd identity, whatever good he had left in him was clearly erased once Jack was fully taken over. The film Stanley Kubrick called "the best film I think I have ever seen" Shrouded in strange mystery, puzzling cinephiles for decades, one of the film's darkest secrets is the curious meaning behind the bear who appears to Shelley Duvall's Wendy as she is desperately escaping Jack's grasp. Perhaps the most analyzed part of The Shining is the ending; the final shot in the Stephen King movie adaptation is a 1921 photograph showing Jack with other guests in the hotels ballroom. The layout of the hotel seeming to fluctuate throughout the film is also used as evidence toward this interpretation. Well explain each theory, why people believe it, and look at the corroborating evidence. Contents 1 Biography 2 Notes & Trivia 3 See also 4 External Links 5 Appearances 6 References The number 42 was shown on Dannys shirt as a parallel with the sexual relationship content of the film Summer of 42, and Danny is wearing it in the early summer scenes of the film. Note how the scene opens with a close-up shot of the beige typewriter and slowly zooms out. Meanwhile, Wendy runs through the hotel looking for her son. A hostile Jack threatens her and claims he has responsibilities to look after and will get rid of her if she bothered him. Based on the book of the same name by Stephen King, The Shining follows Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a job as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Here's the end of The Shining explained. Here's the meaning of The Shining Bear Man explained. He was an auteur with an exclusive vision and wouldnt settle for anything less. Copyright 2023 Metaflix Media LLC. First few seconds and we are already given a taste of the mise en scne. The most obvious parallel is that both stories feature their combating opponents showing down in a sprawling maze. Sitting in an armchair, Jack is reading a January 1978 issue of Playgirl Magazine, a potential reference to his homosexual tendencies as well as much more if you look a little closer. There are so many doors in the movie that lead nowhere, like our ideas of the movie that according to Kubrick offer no explanation and hence raises the question : What is the maze? He was creating a parallel between Jack Torrance and the main character of Kubricks earlier film Lolita. In the HD version, several book and newspaper titles are visible in the psychiatrist scene. Netflix. The aforementioned sequel, Doctor Sleep, got a cinematic adaptation that serves as both a sequel to The Shining novel and Kubricks film, in a way. When Wendy finds Danny after he enters room 237, hes in shock and physically injured, and Wendy immediately blames Jack for it as he has hurt their son before. Both the usage of pre-existing music and the original score composed for The Shining are standouts of the genre. The point of Horace's request was cruelty. The maze chase grew out of the topiary animal hedges that move around in the book. We are given a tour of The Overlook, and in these long takes Kubrick covers every detail and clue that is crucial to the story, a prime example of his unparalleled intelligence, something that left me shell-shocked on a second watch. 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